Loud without the wind was roaringThrough th’autumnal sky;Drenching wet, the cold rain pouring,Spoke of winter nigh.All too like that dreary eve,Did my exiled spirit grieve.Grieved at first, but grieved not long,Sweet–how softly sweet!–it came;Wild words of an ancient song,Undefined, without a name. “It was spring, and the skylark was singing:”Those words they awakened a spell;They […]

A LITTLE while, a little while,The weary task is put away,And I can sing and I can smile,Alike, while I have holiday. Where wilt thou go, my harassed heart–What thought, what scene invites thee nowWhat spot, or near or far apart,Has rest for thee, my weary brow? There is a spot, ‘mid barren hills,Where winter […]

No coward soul is mine,No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere:I see Heaven’s glories shine,And faith shines equal, arming me from fear. O God within my breast,Almighty, ever-present Deity!Life–that in me has rest,As I–undying Life–have power in thee! Vain are the thousand creedsThat move men’s hearts: unutterably vain;Worthless as withered weeds,Or idlest froth amid the […]

The Bluebell is the sweetest flowerThat waves in summer air:Its blossoms have the mightiest powerTo soothe my spirit’s care. There is a spell in purple heathToo wildly, sadly dear;The violet has a fragrant breath,But fragrance will not cheer, The trees are bare, the sun is cold,And seldom, seldom seen;The heavens have lost their zone of […]

Riches I hold in light esteem,And Love I laugh to scorn;And lust of fame was but a dream,That vanished with the morn: And if I pray, the only prayerThat moves my lips for meIs, “Leave the heart that now I bear,And give me liberty!” Yes, as my swift days near their goal:‘Tis all that I […]

Well hast thou spoken, and yet not taughtA feeling strange or new;Thou hast but roused a latent thought,A cloud-closed beam of sunshine broughtTo gleam in open view. Deep down, concealed within my soul,That light lies hid from men;Yet glows unquenched–though shadows roll,Its gentle ray cannot control–About the sullen den. Was I not vexed, in these […]

The moon is full this winter night;The stars are clear, though few;And every window glistens brightWith leaves of frozen dew. The sweet moon through your lattice gleams,And lights your room like day;And there you pass, in happy dreams,The peaceful hours away! While I, with effort hardly quellingThe anguish in my breast,Wander about the silent dwelling,And […]

Well, some may hate, and some may scorn,And some may quite forget thy name;But my sad heart must ever mournThy ruined hopes, thy blighted fame!‘Twas thus I thought, an hour ago,Even weeping o’er that wretch’s woe;One word turned back my gushing tears,And lit my altered eye with sneers.Then “Bless the friendly dust,” I said,“That hides […]

“The evening passes fast away.‘Tis almost time to rest;What thoughts has left the vanished day,What feelings in thy breast? “The vanished day? It leaves a senseOf labour hardly done;Of little gained with vast expense–A sense of grief alone? “Time stands before the door of Death,Upbraiding bitterlyAnd Conscience, with exhaustless breath,Pours black reproach on me: “And […]

Oh, thy bright eyes must answer now,When Reason, with a scornful brow,Is mocking at my overthrow!Oh, thy sweet tongue must plead for meAnd tell why I have chosen thee! Stern Reason is to judgment come,Arrayed in all her forms of gloom:Wilt thou, my advocate, be dumb?No, radiant angel, speak and say,Why I did cast the […]

When weary with the long day’s care,And earthly change from pain to pain,And lost, and ready to despair,Thy kind voice calls me back again:Oh, my true friend! I am not lone,While then canst speak with such a tone! So hopeless is the world without;The world within I doubly prize;Thy world, where guile, and hate, and […]

“O day! he cannot dieWhen thou so fair art shining!O Sun, in such a glorious sky,So tranquilly declining; He cannot leave thee now,While fresh west winds are blowing,And all around his youthful browThy cheerful light is glowing! Edward, awake, awake–The golden evening gleamsWarm and bright on Arden’s lake–Arouse thee from thy dreams! Beside thee, on […]

Ah! why, because the dazzling sunRestored our Earth to joy,Have you departed, every one,And left a desert sky? All through the night, your glorious eyesWere gazing down in mine,And, with a full heart’s thankful sighs,I blessed that watch divine. I was at peace, and drank your beamsAs they were life to me;And revelled in my […]

“The winter wind is loud and wild,Come close to me, my darling child;Forsake thy books, and mateless play;And, while the night is gathering gray,We’ll talk its pensive hours away;– “Ierne, round our sheltered hallNovember’s gusts unheeded call;Not one faint breath can enter hereEnough to wave my daughter’s hair,And I am glad to watch the blazeGlance […]